Le Méridien Istanbul Etiler — Hotel in Beşiktaş

We stayed 4 nights here over Easter. It turns out the hotel wasn't fully opened yet (and thus not all facilities finished), but accepting guests. They told us that only 60 out of the 240 or so rooms were being sold and it would be another 2 months to the grand opening. We were a bit disappointed as it meant that we couldn't enjoy some of the facilities such as outside pool, club lounge, etc. There was no such mention anywhere on SPG or the hotel's website, but I guess prices were low to allow for this.

As it turns out none of the above issues stopped us from thoroughly enjoying our stay.

Make sure you have the hotel's address printed out (they will give you a card) as most taxi drivers don't know where it is. It is located right by the tollgate at the second Bosphorus bridge, so very easy access from the airport.

Etiler is an upmarket residential area; from what we understood, it was very up and coming, with new restaurant openings and the area is indeed very pleasant. It is adjacent to Bebek which is down the hill on the bosphorus and is teeming with restaurants and bars. It is a bit of a struggle to get to the old town, so if you are planning on doing a lot of sightseeing, this can get a bit tiresome. However, for relaxing and enjoying the city life, Etiler is a good choice. The closest metro station is a 5-10 minute cab ride away, where you can also find the very upmarket Kanyon shopping mall, which has some very nice restaurant options (the unassuming sushi fast-food restaurant was delicious).

The lobby is beautiful and we had a good impression from the very start, with all the staff very eager to help. Check in was swift, but as mentioned above, there was no room to be upgraded to, so we merely got a "bosphorus view" room and no club floor since this wasn't open yet: although free breakfast was offer in compensation and additional to platinum bonus points amenity.

The room was very nice, extremely modern, great tv, iphone dock a great armchair, etc. Enough complimentary water was always provided during our stay although the quantities seemed to vary from one day to the other. There were some nice chocolates in the room for us and a personal welcome note.

Breakfast buffet was very nice, some communication issue with regards to our comp breakfast, but that was quickly rectified and apologies offered. Buffet choices varied sufficiently across the few days we were there and we never got bored with the choices. We did not try the restaurant for other meals as it was significantly more expensive than nearby restaurants and the menu a bit too westernized for tourists like us.

I recommend you to ask the concierge for restaurant and bar recommendations. They were spot on, particularly Ozan, who recommended us Sur Balik, a delicious fish restaurant in Bebek for our first meal in Istanbul.

The gym is equipped with state of the art equipment, and guests also get complimentary access to the spa facilities (sauna, steam and turkish bath). The indoor swimming pool and hot tub were very nice although the outdoor one wasn't operational during the time of our visit, although it looked really nice.

We decided to go to the rooftop only to find out they were doing a test run for the first night on the rooftop bar, which looks great and has awesome views from its terrace. This is sure to become a favourite spot when it's fully open. Bar staff were really friendly and we even got treated to free drinks by the hotel's owner, who happened to be there.

I'd love to come back when the hotel is fully open. Judging by what I've seen I am sure it will be a great hotel, up there with the best...

There is great customer service and then there is the customer service that exceeds all greatness and expectations. Our experience at the Le Meridien Istanbul Etiler was the latter! It is challenging to figure out where to begin but I will say that, I am no road warrior - but as a relatively seasoned traveler having stayed at dozens of hotels around the world, this hotel provided us with the best possible attention, service, care and generosity that we have ever experienced.

For the sake of this review, I am going to give all the credit to the hotel Guest Relations Manager Ms. Lala Kaya but I know there is an incredibly hard working team behind her that made our stay as excellent as it was. This turned out to be one of those hotel stays where everything went in our favor. We were offered early check in, late check out, suite upgrades and lounge access which was massive for breakfast, evening meals (6pm-8pm) and tea/coffee/light snacks throughout the day. I could not have asked for more. Every request I made was fulfilled with a smile.

Ms. Lala was already in touch with me prior to our trip to ensure the hotel had our every needed catered for. This really helped as I was able to discuss and request a few of the conveniences that I mentioned above which were all accorded to us. The rooms were immaculately clean, spacious, and very well furnished. Even the bathrooms were generously equipped with high quality essentials and everything else one could possibly need.

While I can continue to go on about the food, service and attention to detail, it suffices to say that all of them were top notch. What I felt the hotel really has going for them is the people. Every employee we interacted with from the hotel entrance, front desk, concierge, lounge, restaurants, room service and even those who we only speak to over the phone, treated us like family with a broad smile behind the mask. Special mention to Mr. Yigit at the concierge desk who expertly guided us on restaurants, excursions and places to visit. He was a pleasure to deal with.

However, what the hotel may not necessarily have going for them is the location but this could go either way depending on your perspective. In terms of airport transfers, the hotel is well positioned. We took 4 airport transfers between IST and the hotel and on all 4 occasions, the transfer duration did not exceed 30 minutes which is a luxury in Istanbul given the intensity of the traffic. The hotel is conveniently located right off a major highway so that works out very well. As a tourist, yes, you are a little away from the major spots in the center of Istanbul but we took a taxi each time we ventured out and were able to get around with ease. The hotel staff ordered us taxis which arrived within minutes each time we made the request.

I must also add that the hotel extremely conveniently arranged PCR tests for us 24 hours prior to our check out that were done within the hotel for a fee of just $10! Results were also printed for us (in addition to being emailed) and kept ready when we checked-out.

There is so much more to add and I am happy to answer any questions if any reader wishes to ask but I would most definitely recommend this hotel to everyone and would absolutely stay here again. I am already planning my next visit and I eager to see Ms. Kaya once again and enjoy the incredible hospitality she and the hotel has to...

I stayed in this hotel with family (5 including me) as a part of a vacation to Turkey and the hotel definitely lived up to all the high praise that I had read in prior reviews.

We also had a special occasion (important birthday) during our stay and I had communicated the same in advance to the hotel. I also applied my Platinum suite night awards towards the two rooms that we had booked, to upgrade both to Executive Suites.

The rooms that we received were very good. One was a corner suite, and the other suite had an amazing view of the bridge and a bit of the water as well. The interiors and amenities were fabulous, and inspite of the fact that I travel a lot for work and have frequented many hotels, I was quite impressed.

Overall we had a very good stay, and the staff was very helpful. Just for the experience I would like to give the hotel 5 stars on all counts, however there were minor hiccups, which I am listing below only to provide feedback.

Highlights: Complimentary birthday cake and champagne sent by the hotel, along with a hand written note - thanks to Elif (guest relations manager) and Sabine (General Manager - who I had contacted originally) The Concierge - Ozan, was extremely helpful, and helped us plan and arrange the logistics for all our activities in Istanbul Club lounge - I only dropped in in the evenings, and it was nice to relax here after a busy day in the city, before heading out again. I dont remember her name, but the lady running the lounge was very friendly and helpful, and took great care of us La Torre restaurant - This was a bit of a mixed bag. Firstly, very happy with the breakfast buffet, however the lunch was a a let down. The service during lunch on our first day was very poor; we were advised to take the buffet option by the hotel staff (which turned out to be quite expensive for a party of 5), but subsequently received almost no service during the meal - drinks were not offered, it took ages to clear plates, and we had to ask 4 different people for the check before we finally received it about half an hour later. This seems to have been an exception, and the service was superb on the next 3 visits to the restaurant. Room service/house keeping - this was almost perfect except for one day when they forgot to clean one of the rooms. I was very impressed with how swiftly they responded to every request - ranging from a request for a 220 V to 110 V transformer to clearing the dishes after ordering room service for a meal etc. Boaz bar - this was actually the only major letdown during our visit. The view was amazing, but the bar was not well stocked, did not have some of the ingredients for cocktails on their menu, and the cocktails that they did produce were very ordinary, and definitely not worth the price. It also did not help that the bar was very dead for a Friday evening. We also used other services like the spa, swimming pool etc, and had good experiences

Overall, I had a wonderful stay, and would definitely return to this hotel if I visit again. For tourists, it is a 40 Lira or so cab ride away from the major attractions, but in my opinion the value and experience that it offers is...